Packets received by a network switching node are generally stored in hardware or software queues prior to being forwarded to a destination. Each queue in the node is typically configured by a network administrator prior to its use. For example, the queue may be configured with various parameters available for the particular queue, with an interface type, and with information on the priority of data packets to be stored in the queue.
A drawback with the existing manner of configuring queues is that the process is manual and time consuming. In addition, the network administrator must generally know the specific parameters of the queue in advance before the configuration can occur. For example, the network administrator generally needs advance knowledge of the number of queues to be configured and the traffic that will flow through those queues. A further drawback with the existing configuration process is that statically assigned queues may not change in real-time to accommodate the dynamic nature of network traffic, resulting in inefficient use of network resources.
Accordingly, what is desired are queues whose queuing parameters are not statically configured prior to their use. Such queues should instead be dynamically created and configured based on varying flows in network traffic.